Our Board

  • President

    Brittany’s dedication to working with youth started in childhood, watching peers facing challenges and troubling situations. That interest presented an opportunity to complete a college Service Learning project as part of her criminal justice program. The assignment led Brittany to join the Rochester Freedom Schools in 2007 that turned into a long-term commitment as she quickly took on a leadership position which she held for over a decade. During this time, Brittany learned ways of connecting with children in positive ways and the benefits of building relationships with scholars, families and the community.  This work inspired her to continue her education earning a Master's in school counseling at Roberts Wesleyan College. Today she serves as a Professional School Counselor within the Rochester community helping students with their goals through positive affirmations, navigating life’s hardships in pursuit of a bright future. Through a revamped initiative “continuing the work” alongside a fierce group of community advocates, Brittany uses her voice and servant leadership to stand against injustice that children face through the Freedom Scholars Learning Center organization. Her greatest joy is “believing in children so they believe in themselves.”

  • Treasurer

    As an Associate Professor of Human Development at the the University of Rochester’s Warner School of Education and Human Development Joyce specializes in family studies, community development, informal learning, qualitative grounded theory, and critical participatory research practices. With community research partners, she has presented widely on relational strategies and models of urban transformation and activism, on supporting neighborhood and family well-being, and on addressing inequalities and disparities across community and health through re-framing practices of collaborative research and publicly engaged scholarship.

  • Throughout Brandon's career as English Teacher, Restorative Practices Coordinator, National Professional Development Provider for classroom and system leaders, Freedom School Servant Leader, and Site Coordinator he has pursued the following question: How do we provide equitable ELA and literacy instruction in a way that affirms student identity and dismantles systemic racism in education?

  • Thomas V. Cuyler Jr. is a proud graduate of the Rochester City School District, attending School 33 for Elementary School and School Without Walls for Middle School and High School. He has served as a Youth Worker for over a decade, working at a number of community agencies in the Greater Rochester Area. Graduating with his Bachelors of Art in Community Youth Development at Nazareth College of Rochester in 2020, his education paired with his direct support experience in youth work has enabled him to bridge resources and advance advocacy work for Rochester area youth. He is currently pursuing his Masters in Strategic Leadership at Roberts Wesleyan University. 

    Currently, Thomas is the Director of Community Intervention Services at Ibero American Action League. When Thomas is not working, he enjoys writing as well as film and video editing. Thomas also founded On Cuyler Time, a media platform in which he uses to "give a voice to those who have been silenced. To tell the stories of the forgotten. To shine a light on the lost."

    Freedom Scholars Learning Center

  • Secretary

    A founding partner and co-manager of Seven Sisters Community Development Group, Leslie Newman specializes in community development, focusing on affordable housing, asset building, community development financial institution development, organizational development, resource development, and workforce development. Her skills include coalition building, strategic planning facilitation, curriculum development, training, and technical assistance focusing on organizational capacity building and new program development.

    Leslie began working in community development as a law student, assisting nonprofit organizations in Detroit focusing on affordable housing, income-generating strategies, and neighborhood revitalization. For over 20 years, Leslie has focused much of her work on asset building in Indigenous  communities, concentrating on CDFI development, homeownership, and the creation and implementation of Individual Development Account (IDA) programs.  She has also focused on workforce development, supporting the Bay Area Construction Sector Intervention Collaborative in Oakland, California, and working as a coach for Youthbuild programs around the country, assisting programs in New Mexico, Arizona, Montana, Kentucky, and North Dakota.  Leslie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies from Dartmouth College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School. She is fluent in Spanish and Hebrew and has conversational knowledge of French and Arabic.

  • Doreen enjoys being involved with community endeavors that enable her to advocate for youth, families and Seniors; to provide opportunities for them to use their voice as empowerment and as an agent for structural and systemic change. Doreen’s community involvement runs wide and deep including serving on the boards of Beechwood Neighborhood Coalition, Beechwood Greenhouse Collective, City Roots Land Trust, The Historic Parsells Church, and also working with Foodlink, School #33 PTA and school-based planning, and Common Ground Health.

  • Dr. Brazwell is a graduate of the Rochester City School District.  She attended elementary schools #9, #20, #26, #27 and graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School.  She has been active in the community through her church as a youth and young adult working in different roles supporting her church.  After graduating from high school she married and worked as a clerk at the Rochester Gas & Electric company.  Her family relocated to Michigan, Ohio, Maryland and Pennsylvania and there she began college graduating from Allegany Community College with an associate in PrePharmacy.  Continuing her higher education she graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelors in Biology.  Dr. Brazwell worked as a chemist in an environmental company for thirteen years in Ohio before returning to Rochester and continued to work at Eastman Kodak.  After working at an elementary school in Rochester as a Science Facilitator, she was encouraged to return to college to work on a Masters in Science Education to become certified to teach science.  She loved teaching high school students Biology, Botany and Environmental Science making lasting relationships with families. Later, she became an administrator at East High School after teaching five years.  Her certification as an administrator led to continuing working towards a doctorate in educational leadership along with her husband.  They both graduated with doctorates in educational leadership from University at Buffalo.  Dr. Brazwell’s dissertation was entitled: “No One Ever Asked Us: Counterstories of the Rochester, NY Open Enrollment Process. 

    Dr. Brazwell has held administrative positions as an Assistant Principal, Academy Director and Principal at various Rochester City School District schools which has provided educational opportunities and relevant relationships with PreK to 9-12 high school students. She has led summer programs for students to support learning, cultural growth and education.  She was fortunate to attend training with the Children Defense Fund program for Freedom School and was able to supervise a successful Freedom School Summer program for several years and has been involved with the coordination of the  after-school Seed Sowers Program at School #33 with Jeremy Smith, director of the Freedom Seed Sowers program.  She has worked with the Rotary Club to provide libraries with culturally relevant literature for students at School #33 for students to be able to see themselves in literature.  

    Dr. Brazwell has retired from the Rochester City School District after twenty-five years